Anne Marie Duquette - Castillo's Bride

Aurora’s dive crew won’t be idiots, judging by her taste in friends. That went for Neil Harris, too. He might be a bit proprietary but he was clearly a man of compassion and integrity.

“You two go way back?” he asked, for the women were comfortable completing each other’s sentences. He found brains appealing in any woman, and neither one was hard on the eyes.

The women glanced at him, then at each other. Aurora picked up her drink. Donna merely inclined her head.

“Should I withdraw the question?” Jordan asked.

“No,” Aurora said. “It’s just that, well, it’s ancient history. Donna and I went to school together. We both wanted out of the house at an early age.”

“Rough childhood?”

“Not at all,” Donna said truthfully. “I was the spoiled only child of doting parents. Too spoiled.”

“I was the headstrong daughter of kind, gentle parents,” Aurora said. “But my ex-hippie mom and dad turned out to want a stricter, more regimented life for their kids than they had themselves. Donna and I both wanted to run away to sea at an early age. Donna here managed to restrain herself until after graduating from college—summa cum laude and class valedictorian.”

“That’s ancient history, too,” Donna inserted. “Then it was off to Newport, Rhode Island, for officer training, and a career in the Navy as an intelligence officer…until a few years ago.”

“I didn’t wait so long,” Aurora said. “I grew up swimming, then diving in these waters. I hated school, hated being inside and had very little patience.”

“Especially when she was offered a job with a salvage crew off the coast of Florida,” Donna continued. “The salvage captain heard about her through the beach grapevine. Thought Aurora was at least eighteen.”

Aurora smiled sheepishly. “I wasn’t, but the captain was happily married, her husband was the dive master and her grown children worked the boat. She was the only adult who recognized how serious I was about diving. She offered me a job, I told my parents, and my parents hit the roof.”

“That’s putting it mildly,” Donna said, signaling to the waitress for a refill on her spritzer. “The tears, the arguments—it was a mess. Aurora wanted to go to court to be declared a legal adult, but the salvage job would’ve been filled by then. She had to be on the next plane with the captain, who offered to pay her passage, or lose out.”

“How old were you?” Jordan asked Aurora.

“Sixteen. I’d just finished my sophomore year in high school, but I knew what I wanted—my opportunity of a lifetime. I’d never given my parents names, places or details, so when they refused to listen, I left. They were unable to track me down.”

Silence fell over the table. The seagulls screamed and circled above their empty table, then moved on.

“You parents must have been heartbroken,” Jordan said.

Aurora nodded. “They were. So was Dorian. She’s never forgiven me.”

“Dorian’s a jealous bitch of a younger sister,” Donna said.

“No, she’s not,” Aurora said loyally.

“She is,” Donna insisted. “Even I was jealous. I mean, what an adventure! So Rory packed her things, caught the bus to the airport and left. She didn’t even say goodbye to her sister or her best friend—that’s me, by the way.”

“I couldn’t. Not without causing more trouble.”

“However,” Donna continued, “Rory kept in touch with me, and I delivered news to her family on a regular basis until she turned eighteen. Her parents forgave but never forgot. In fact, they moved to Arizona after a lifetime of working in the same San Diego bank. After Dorian got her accounting degree and married her computer expert, they stayed in San Diego. That’s when those proverbial chickens came home to roost. Dorian’s niece grew up hearing about her aunt and wanting to become another Rory—a hard act to follow.”

“I never wanted to hurt anyone,” Aurora said quietly.

“It’s true. She did all she could to spare her family,” Donna explained to Jordan. Jordan had the feeling not too many people sided with Aurora’s youthful decision. “However, Tanya doesn’t give a damn who she hurts when she wants something. Tanya doesn’t even care that Rory’s almost dead broke. She’s been meeting Dorian and Gerald’s payroll—and her cash is running out.”

“Donna, please.” Aurora protested. “He doesn’t need to know all my personal business.”

“He does if he’s going to be your partner. Besides, I have a stake in all this. Who’s in charge of protecting your butts?”

“I didn’t ask you to look after me. I can take care of myself.”

“So can I,” Jordan said.

Donna gave him a skeptical gaze. “I heard about your little adventure on the pier, Mr. Castillo.”

“I didn’t know anyone was after me. I do now. And I’ll help you keep an eye on Aurora.”

“Worry about yourself, Jordan,” Rory muttered.

“I will. Donna, I appreciate your efforts on my behalf. You’ll bill me, of course,” Jordan said, purposely changing the subject and centering his attention on Donna.

“Strike the mother lode, and you can count on it. Until then, you’ll have to settle for buying my lunch.”

“Speaking of which, here comes our food,” Aurora said.

“And there goes my pager. Happens every time. Don’t wait for me. It’s my office.” Donna pulled her cell phone from her purse and hurried over to an empty table to conduct her business in private.

“Nice lady,” Jordan said, politely waiting for Donna to return despite her suggestion that they go ahead and eat. “I’m surprised she left the Navy. Intelligence billets are hard to fill. You have to be the best of the best to get in.”

“She was, and still is. Unfortunately, she’s in love with Neil. He made life difficult for her, so she quit.”

“What do you mean?”

“Remember the man who helped me save your life? Neil Harris is a former Navy captain. He wanted Donna to leave the military to become his wife. She wanted to be her own boss and decided to make a clean break, so she left him and the Navy. No sense marrying someone who’s never home, she said. Neil retired—he’s about ten years older than we are—and after that he got the job of cruise-ship captain. A job he has no intention of quitting. He’s away just as much as when he was in the Navy. He and Donna are still crazy about each other, but there’s no real way they can be together. A shame.”

“I never got a chance to thank him.”

“You will. Those two use me as an excuse to see each other, since we’re mutual friends. I’m always the third wheel.”

“Does that bother you?”

Aurora shook out a paper napkin and placed it on her lap. “No, but it worries me.”

Jordan noticed that Donna had finished her call, and had risen from the empty table to rejoin them. “Why?” he asked bluntly.

“I tend to have an unpredictable effect on the lives of those who know me. And judging by your near-death experience, so do you. Until the police catch your attackers, we need to watch our backs carefully, and keep Donna and Neil out of this as much as we can. We’re on our own here.”

Jordan’s jaw tightened. “Don’t you worry about me or your friend. I’ll be looking out for all of us.” Especially you.

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